Have been planning to write something from last few days but exams have kept me busy- this does not mean i have been busy studying. Exam time means we have an official reason to call ourselves busy though we sleep more number of hours than usual, watch movies, spend time on facebook and update twitter messages.That's Mba for you where exams dont test your bookish knowledge but your ability to think on hand, apply what you learn in class & design strategies in 40 mins, thank god exams are designed this way and thanks to the way technology has evolved.
I can google any topic I want to refer,download ebooks, receive and send reference material via email, find out what my peers are upto through their status updates on FB, twitter,gtalk and all other social networking sites. It is amazing how technology has changed the way we access information,communicate , keep in touch with family & friends,the way we shop, in short it has changed the way we live. Our world has transformed into a Virtual World and I believe this is one of the most significant changes in our lives. A couple of years ago in situations when i wanted to share any kind of news-good or bad, the first thing I would do is pick up the phone and call my loved ones and now what I do is update my status message on facebook and get instant response,earlier if I felt bored I would dial my friend's number and talk till he/she got bugged and now I sit and write blogs like this one the only similarity being I still continue to bug them ;). I would earlier spend my free time cooking, talking to mom, listening to stories told by my granny(Did not mind listening to the same story repeatedly as every time granny told a story she told it with the same passion), meditation-yoga and now all my time is spent reading ebooks,research articles, browsing websites,watching videos on you tube,writing and reading blogs and so on. This is the time where friends send wedding invites' on google groups, upload pictures of their newly born on social networking sites, constantly change their locations- from Bangalore India to San Hose, USA, guys and gals manage their long term relationships through skype or the likes. We are living in an age where we dont have to think how to kill or make best use of the time we have, there are hundreds of options available to do so and all options available only a touch away, this is the age when friends are not a phone call but a click away irrespective of the actual physical distance between them.
While this advance in technology has been very convenient and comforting for most of us saving a lot of time and money it has also changed our life to a large extent. I have come across several posts and status messages saying "300 friends on facebook but still nobody to talk to" and there have been instances when I have felt the same, times when i have felt the need of a friend but have managed to spend time on my virtual world instead. The environment around me has helped me believe that I live in a virtual world, a place where i have plenty of friends, a place where i spend all my time without being accountable to anyone, a place where i can define or redefine my own world and my own happiness. What is to be pondered over is how long will this virtual world last, how is it going to affect the way we live and value relationships.
nice write up! virtual world although cannot replace the real world activities, has somehow become a second fiddle to the latter. But on the other hand has shrunk the world.
ReplyDeleteGood topic. I have my own take on virtual world and actually it is not pleasent especially with regard to social networking sites. Though I can know whatever is happening with my friends lives, their world's, their engagements, their activities I just don't feel personally connected. It has become more of compulsion to constantly update and broadcast our side of news. It just takes over so much of our mental space which I feel is a very unhealthy addiction.
ReplyDeleteI would rather phone/mail than be controlled by so-called virtual world friends. Also, can't we really enjoy life on our own instead of sitting in front of laptop and fiddling with the mouse? Just go around, visit parks, go to plays, go to movie etc etc..I wish people learn to balance these. I really do..I really know what you mean when you say - "300 friends on facebook but still nobody to talk to". Sad really.
Thats so very true Karthik. It has become more of a compulsion than interest and is no doubt unhealthy.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kashyap:)
ReplyDelete